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Hearing in drug court case set to resume in March

Published on NewsOK
Modified: December 21, 2012 at 5:52 pm •
Published: December 21, 2012

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McALESTER — It looks as if prosecution and defense attorneys will have to wait until at least March to find out whether former District 18 Drug Court Coordinator Angie Marcum will be bound over for trial on six of the counts in the first indictment filed against her.

Oklahoma Attorneys General Charles Rogers and Megan Tilly were in Pittsburg County District Court on Wednesday, as were Marcum and her attorney, Shannon McMurray, of Tulsa.

They were in McAlester for a preliminary hearing on an indictment in which Marcum is charged with six counts of stealing, destroying or secreting a public book or record in the form of receipts for payments made by drug court recipients.

Following testimony by two state witnesses, Okmulgee County Special District Judge Cindy Pickering tentatively continued the hearing until early March, with an exact date to be determined later. Pickering has been appointed to preside over the preliminary hearing in the case.

Marcum is accused in a 2011 Oklahoma Multicounty Grand Jury indictment with two counts of embezzling public money and property, along with six counts of stealing, destroying or secreting a public book or record in the form of receipts for payments made by drug court participants.

The grand jury indicted Marcum in connection with an Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and State Auditor and Inspector’s Office probe into missing money and records in the District 18 Drug Court, which covers Pittsburg and McIntosh counties.

After the hearing, McMurray spoke with the News-Capital and was highly critical of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation case against Marcum.

She noted that in addition to Marcum, present and former drug court participants who were working in the drug court office in McAlester also took payments from drug court participants.

“We’re ready to get it on like Donkey Kong,” she said, referring to her readiness to defend Marcum of the charges filed against her.

Also after the hearing, Rogers had a response to McMurray’s criticism of the state investigation.

“Ms. Marcum and others did their dead level best to frustrate and impede the OSBI and Auditor and Inspector’s investigation,” Rogers said. “They were indicted; they will be tried and they will be punished.”

The only two witnesses who testified Wednesday were OSBI agent John Jones, and Rodney Briggs, of Briggs Printing.

Rogers and Tilly had other state witnesses ready to testify, but the case was continued after the judge said she had to return to Okmulgee County.

Much of the testimony concerned receipt books which were used in drug court and which were designed to keep records of payments made by drug court participants. Payments were fees charged for participating in the program and other related costs, according to previous testimony.

Seventy-six receipt books were delivered to the drug court over a period of time, according to testimony in the case, including one which was a reprint of a previous receipt book, reported “lost.”